Why Are They Called PivotTables

PivotTables are one of the wildest but most powerful features of Excel. We use PivotTables a lot when we develop spreadsheets for our clients. Once a client sees a PivotTable, they nearly always ask whether they can create one themselves. Although anyone can create a PivotTable, unfortunately many people tend to shy away from them, as they see them as too complex. Indeed, when you first use a PivotTable, the process can seem a bit daunting. Some persistence is definitely necessary.

You'll find that persistence will pay off once you experience the best feature of PivotTables: their ability to be manipulated using trial and error and immediately showthe result of this manipulation. If the result is not what you expect, you can use Excel's Undo feature and have another go! Whatever you do, you are not changing the structure of your original table in any way, so you can do no harm.

PivotTables allowyou to pivot data using drag-and-drop techniques and receive results immediately. PivotTables are interactive; once the table is complete, you can easily see how your information will be affected when you move (or pivot) your data. This will become patently clear once you give PivotTables a try.

Even for experienced PivotTable developers, an element of trial and error is always involved in producing desired results. You will find yourself pivoting your table a lot!